I feel as though, up until now, I have been under the impression that by my third year of college, I would finally stop feeling homesick.
As a 20-year-old, I have believed that college would become my escape from my life at home and I would begin to feel happy to be on my own.
That has not been the case for me. If anything, I am now more homesick than ever, and it is honestly not a great feeling.
I always experience my worst episodes of homesickness right after breaks from campus.
Although the break can be wonderful and relaxing, coming back to school is always difficult on me.
I do not think that I am the only person who experiences this kind of feeling after being off campus for a few days.
It is normal to fall back into the swing of being home and not doing as much academic work.
I think this is most common among freshmen students who are living alone for the first time.
I know that my very first break from campus back in freshman year was the hardest to return from.
Although I do love being able to study here at Gannon and I feel extremely lucky to have my friends on campus, nothing really beats being able to spend time at home these days.
Homesickness can really make it difficult to focus when you come back to school and try to get work done, so it is important to try to remain as positive as you can so that you do not end up falling behind.
It can be hard to part with friends and family again, but you have to focus on your goals and really think about why you are choosing to study in the first place.
Once you imagine what you are working so hard toward, it will become a little bit easier to come back to campus and do your best.
Eventually, the homesickness will begin to fade away, and you can carry on through the semester. Before you know it, you will have the opportunity to go back home and visit with your friends and family again.
The best cure for homesickness can be spending time with the people you love on campus and creating that bond that will always make you excited to return after breaks at home.
Food with friends really can fix everything.
I know that homesickness can be tough to deal with, but at the end of the day it is definitely worth it.
Even though I will be the first person to admit that I get homesick much more often than I probably should, I know that I will continue to return to the campus I currently call my home in order to work hard and achieve my goals as a student.

HARLEE BOEHM
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